News and Articles

Developer escapes liability for failing to undertake obscure search.

The recent Supreme Court decision in Coventry v Lawrence [2014] UKSC 13 raises interesting points relating to the tort of private nuisance and the remedies available to a successful Claimant, primarily in respect of nuisance arising from noise, but of wider importance on the issue of damages being granted in lieu of injunctive relief.

Property lawyers have not generally needed to take a great deal of notice of Human Rights law. Particularly in the field of commercial property the impact of the Human Rights Act 1998 has been fairly minimal. The reason for this is that the HRA 1998 does not, generally, impose any obligations on private individuals. In the lexicon of human rights jargon, the effect of the Act is vertical not horizontal; that is to say it regulates relations between state and citizen and not between private individuals or companies.

It is difficult to imply a term into a lease and parties need to spell out the position clearly regarding re-imbursement payments for rent, service charge, sinking fund, and insurance when a Lease can be ended early.

Pay close attention to lease requirements when calculating service charge and crediting provisional sums.

Ensure the right parties make the statutory application for a new business tenancy.

Provisions in residential leases enabling landlords to determine each tenant’s service charge proportion may be void.

Provisions in residential leases enabling landlords to determine each tenant’s service charge proportion may be void.

Nicholas Dowding QC practises at Falcon Chambers, specialising in the law of landlord and tenant, and he is regarded as one of the ablest and most sought-after silks in this field. H

Failure to highlight a property price discrepancy may cost solicitors dearly.